White House communications ‘obviously’ have problems, says new director

New White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci said Sunday there was "obviously" a communications problem at the White House.

Scaramucci's hiring on Friday led to the departure of press secretary Sean Spicer, who resented working for the former hedge fund executive with no professional communications experience. In an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Scaramucci hinted he might make major changes to the administration's communications operation.

"There's obviously a communications problem, because there's a lot that we've done as it relates to executive orders, bills that have been signed, economic progress — I don't want to cite all the economic data, but the economy is super-strong, business optimism is way up," he said, adding later: "I just think we need to deliver the messaging a little bit differently than we've been doing it in the past."

One chance Scaramucci said he would support: returning to on-camera White House press briefings, which have become rare in recent weeks.

"I think we should put the cameras on," he said. "But if the president doesn't want the cameras on, we're not going to put the cameras on. It's going to really be up to him."

He also said he wanted to "soften up" the administration's relationship with the press. "They're tough on us, so let's be tough on them," he said.

Scaramucci predicted both tax reform and a repeal of Obamacare would pass before the end of the year — something Republicans outside the White House are intensely skeptical of.

"If the president gets those two pillars done, which I predict he will, over the next six months, you and I will hopefully sit down around Christmastime, and be having a different conversation about the presidency, the communication coming out of the White House and our achievements," Scaramucci said.

Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Scaramucci also said he would work to cut down on leaks coming out of the White House, even suggesting he will “pare down staff” to eliminate the leaks, a major point of frustration for Trump.

“We have to get the leaks stopped,” he said. “I will take dramatic action to stop those leaks.”